SAN FRANCISCO,
February 19, 2007 -- An American Psychological
Association (APA) report released today, written in part by a faculty
member at San Francisco State University, found evidence that the proliferation
of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising
and media causes harm to girls' self-image and healthy development.

Professor Deborah L. Tolman, director of the University's Center for
Research on Gender and Sexuality (http://crgs.sfsu.edu), is one of six
members of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls, which was
charged with producing the report.

"In our society, the sexualization of girls is so pervasive that
it can feel normal for young girls to look like teenagers and for teenagers
to look like older women," said Tolman, who also teaches in SF State's
Human Sexuality Studies Program. "Sexualized images are projected
to suggest sexual availability to the exclusion of other personal characteristics
and qualities, which is inappropriate for any female."

The report found evidence that the sexualization of girls negatively
affects girls and young women in several ways: cognitive functioning,
mental health, physical health and healthy sexual development.

The report encourages parents, school officials and health professionals
to be alert for the potential impact of sexualization on girls and young
women.

"We encourage parents to engage in media with their children, whether
it's listening to music with them, watching television or surfing the
Internet," Tolman said. "Talk about how marketing techniques
make girls' and women's bodies look unnatural and focus people's attention
on their bodies as if that is all that is valuable about them. Get kids
to question what they are seeing and hearing, and how they may be feeling
about their own bodies and their own abilities."

Tolman, who is recognized nationally as a researcher on adolescent sexuality
and mental health, added that the report's results illustrate the need
for further research to determine the extent of the impact on sexualization
of girls and how effects differ for girls and women of different backgrounds.

The members of the APA task force studied published research on the
content and effects of virtually every form of media, including television,
music videos, music lyrics, magazines, movies, video games and the Internet.
They also examined recent advertising campaigns and merchandising of
products aimed toward girls.